For those who missed last night’s game, you would have missed a decent performance against a reasonable Farnborough squad.
Stoke attacking the railway line end in the first half clearly shocked the Boro with the pace of our attacking players and we created two good chances that we failed to put away in the first ten minutes.
Farnborough then had a clear chance but their striker shot straight at Rackley in goal, who made the save.
Stoke then created two further chances, which included a 25yard shot from Harrison Cliff, that required a full-length diving save by the Boro keeper.
Another chance then fell to Reece Rusher (who was lively) on the night, and somehow hit the post, rather than putting the chance away.
Farnborough had another good chance but wasted that by putting it wide from 8 yards.
Halftime was 0-0 and Stoke looking the far better team.
Second-half was the Ben Wright show, scoring on around 54 minutes from an in-swinging cross that split the two centre-backs, that Wright met on the half-volley and slotted the ball way expertly.
Then around 7 minutes later the ball fell to Ben around 30 yards out, with time and space he set himself and smashed a curling shot into the top right hand corner of the net to double Stoke’s lead.
The two goal cushion was however short-lived, as a Boro striker who was allowed to out bully, or pull the Stoke defender broke clear and with Rackley in no-mans land was able to round him and slot the ball into the net.
There was then the Scott Armsworth sending off, or politely asked to be substituted by the referee for arguing the goal.
Around 5 minutes later, up stepped Wright again, picking the ball up down the stand side just inside Farnborough’s half, he drove 15 yards untouched by the Boro defence then took aim and curled one of the sweetest shots you would see win ‘Goal of the month’ into the far top right hand goal.
3-1 up and Boro’s defence moaning amongst themselves, Stoke made a couple of changes, and the next chance fell to Stoke’s No.15 who outplayed his defender and smashed a shot across the goal, which the keeper pushed to the far post where Rusher and Cliff, could not decide which one wanted to put it away from two feet away, and with a defender trying to prevent them, the touch in the end went wide of the post.
Minutes later a shot from 20 yards straight at Rackley, somehow found it’s way past him and rolled into the net (3-2).
Boro were then back on it and were full of running for the final 7 to 8 minutes, but we were able to keep them at bay.
Final Score: Basingstoke 3-2 Farnborough
Finally a big thank-you Sam and Dave from Hampshire FA who assisted us in our first official first team at Winklebury.